UHD President

It is with great pleasure that I announce Dr. Juan Sanchez Muñoz, as the sole finalist to be the next president of University of Houston-Downtown.

Today’s decision comes after conducting a thorough and exhaustive national search, aided by a search firm and search committee comprised of students, faculty, deans, alumni and other supporters, that helped yield a strong and diverse pool of experienced candidates for consideration. I thank the members of the search committee for their hard work and commitment during this process and appreciate their service to UHD.

Dr. Muñoz, who is scheduled to take office in April, 2017, has been serving as senior vice president and vice provost at Texas Tech University focusing on student affairs, undergraduate education and diversity.

He holds a Ph.D. in Curriculum and Instruction from UCLA and a master’s degree in Mexican American Studies from California State University.

UHD plays a vital role in our UH System’s overall delivery of higher education resources to this region, so we are fortunate to have an experienced educator and inspiring administrator of Dr. Muñoz’s caliber lead this institution.

Now that Dr. Muñoz has been named the sole finalist for the president position, state law requires that 21 days must pass before final action can be taken by the Board of Regents on his formal appointment. After that time, I look forward to introducing Dr. Muñoz as the sixth president of UHD.

I would like to thank UH-Clear Lake President William A. Staples for overseeing this very productive search committee and express our appreciation to the faculty and community members who participated in this process. In addition, we are deeply indebted to Michael A. Olivas, the William B. Bates Distinguished Chair of Law at the UH Law Center, who has served so adeptly as UHD’s interim president during this search. Dr. Olivas will stay on in his current role until Dr. Muñoz takes office.

Please join me in congratulating Dr. Muñoz on his selection as sole finalist and in celebrating this exciting announcement for the University of Houston-Downtown.